Why the Phillies WILL Make the Playoffs Again

Today, I got the opportunity to write a guest post over on Yahoo! Sports’ great baseball blog, Big League Stew. ‘Duk and the gang let me post a follow-up to yesterday’s post by Alex Remington that the Braves would make the postseason. I felt the need to back up our fair team, even though last night may not have been the perfect time (or maybe it was, who knows).

Here’s a tidbit of what I wrote:

Been There, Done That: In 2007, the Phillies fought tooth and nail until the final day of the season and made the playoffs. In 2008, they rode past the Mets in the latter stages of the season and blew through the playoffs for their first World Series title in 28 years. In 2009, another National League Championship banner was raised.

This club understands what it takes to reach the postseason and what it takes to become a winner when the check comes due. With their backs against the wall, this crew consisting of Howard, Utley, Rollins, and Werth seem to play their best baseball. September is on the doorstep, a month in which the Phils have done some damage.

In each of the past three seasons, the Phils have won 17 games in September. Offensively, there is hope.Ryan Howard is a career .314 hitter in the final month, mashing a total of 52 home runs with 141 RBI in 162 games. Halladay follows suit to end the year; his career ERA is 3.32, but in September that drops nearly a full run to 2.36.